Pastoral Care: Assessing Sexual Health

Assessment Questions

Clergy and other pastoral care providers must be prepared and skilled in handling the sexuality-related needs of their congregants. The Religious Institute has identified more than one hundred sexuality concerns that congregants might bring, ranging from couples struggling with sexual dysfunction, infertility, or marital issues; people coming out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual; families dealing with the news of a teenage pregnancy or Internet affair; people trying to overcome a legacy of childhood physical or sexual abuse, and so on. Every clergy and chaplain can think of times that sexuality issues have been raised in their private offices. Clergy need special training to deal with these pastoral care issues; congregants need to feel comfortable raising these issues with their clergy; and there needs to be an active referral network for those congregants who need more assistance.